Communication
Vol 17, No 2 (2026): Communication

Interpersonal Communication Methods In Preventing School Fights At SMK Nusantara 2

Nadia Meighita Army (Universitas Bina Sarana Informatika)
Intan Leliana (Universitas Bina Sarana Informatika)
Dito Anjasmoro Ningtyas (Universitas Bina Sarana Informatika)



Article Info

Publish Date
20 Oct 2026

Abstract

Student fights remain a persistent problem in vocational high schools, and prior studies on guidance counselors' communication have generally stopped at concluding that it "plays an important role," without specifying which communication methods are actually effective or why. This study aims to identify and analyze the interpersonal communication methods used by Guidance and Counseling (BK) teachers in preventing school fights among students at SMK Nusantara 2, North Jakarta, using Joseph A. DeVito's five dimensions of interpersonal communication as the analytical framework. A qualitative case study method was employed; data were collected from six purposively selected informants through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation, analyzed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model, and validated through source triangulation. The findings show that guidance counselors apply five interrelated communication methods - opening a non-judgmental space before addressing a problem (openness), validating students' emotional state (empathy), reassuring students that mistakes are not permanent (supportiveness), using respectful, non-stigmatizing language (positiveness), and treating every student as an equal conversation partner (equality) - as a single, mutually reinforcing pattern rather than as five separate techniques. Applying this pattern was found to increase students' trust and openness, and to be associated with a decline in aggressive tendencies and an improved capacity for peaceful conflict resolution among students previously involved in fights. The novelty of this study is the finding that these five communication methods do not prevent fights directly; rather, they operate through a mechanism of psychological reframing, in which students come to see fighting as a threat to their future rather than as a means of self-affirmation - a mechanism not previously identified in studies of guidance-counselor communication. This indicates that the effectiveness of interpersonal communication methods in preventing school fights depends less on which technique is used than on the shift in meaning those methods are able to produce in students

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

comm

Publisher

Subject

Social Sciences

Description

Jurnal Communication published by the Communication Studies Program, Univ. Budi Luhur, twice a year. The publication of this journal is intended as a medium of information exchange, knowledge based on development, and the study of Communication Sciences and its relation to various other scientific ...